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Heads Up Display
show/hide the HUD with '''F12' (added in patch 1.02)'' Heads-Up Displays A simple summary of Scarlett's current basic status it is usually displayed in the upper left corner of the game screen (except during cut scenes and when accessing the Map, Inventory, Journal, or Main Menu.) This display shows the following status information: * Health - A red semicircle on the outer, upper left rim of the heads-up display is Scarlett's current Health. When the semi-circle is full, Scarlett is at maximum Health (the scale of this bar varies so that "full" always reflects whatever Scarlett's maximum health currently is.) If Scarlett's Health is reduced (usually due to combat), the red bar will retreat to the left as a percentage of her total Health. The semi-circle will gradually refill with red as Scarlett recovers Health. * Mental Energy - A blue semicircle on the outer, lower right rim of the heads up display circle indicates Scarlett's current Mental Energy. When this semi-circle is full of blue, Scarlett has her current maximum Mental Energy (the scale of this bar varies so that "full" always reflects whatever Scarlett's maximum mental energy currently is.) Whenever Scarlett casts Necromantic Spells (Mental Skills) or invokes special Combat Techniques (Physical Skills) that use her Mental Energy, the blue bar will retreat to the left to reflect the remaining percentage of our total Mental Energy. The semi-circle will gradually refill we have blue as Scarlett recovers Mental Energy. * Twilight Energy - A purple circle in the middle of the heads-up display indicates Scarlett's current Twilight Energy. This circle is divided into segments, each segment representing enough Twilight Energy to resurrect from the dead (the number of segments increases as Scarlett gains Experience.) The color in the circle will retreat clockwise by one segment each time Scarlett dies and enters the Twilight World. The circle will refill each time Scarlett recovers Twilight Energy by killing an enemy with the Moonblade. * Experience - A circle in the center of the heads-up display shows Scarlett's current level in white numerals. This circle gradually fills from bottom to top with green color, indicating the percentage of Experience Scarlett has earned towards reaching the next level. (So the circle will appear empty of color immediately after Scarlett has just gained a Level.) For small triangles along the circumference of the circle will pulse green when Scarlett has earned additional Attribute Points that have not yet been distributed among her Basic Attributes. This information and more can be seen in greater detail on Scarlett's Basic Attributes page page of her Inventory / Journal. Time of Day A small, 24-hour clock face usually appears in the upper right-hand corner of the display. This indicates whether it is morning, noon, afternoon, evening, midnight, or predawn. The lighting of Scarlett's outdoor surroundings change as the Sun and Moon move across the sky. (Inside and underground, lighting doesn't change.) While Scarlett has no need to sleep, the city changes from day to night: Rogues and Marauders begin to wander the streets of Venice in the dark hours, and most Merchants with outdoor stalls will only be open during daylight hours. (As time passes, Scarlett will also hear the chimes of the cities clock towers.) If Scarlett chooses to sleep, a similar 24-hour clock display will appear to let the player choose when she should wake up. In addition to recovering Health and Mental Energy, sleep is also a good way to let time pass if Scarlett needs to visit someone who's only available during a particular part of the day. Mini-Map The Mini-Map is seen in the upper right-hand corner of the game screen whenever Scarlett is in a location for which there is a map (outdoors, in the mines or catacombs; just about anyplace except inside buildings.) This shows a small subset of the full map showing Scarlett's immediate surroundings. If a current Quest is selected In the Active Quest List, then the tiny green dot indicating her destination is also shown. One of the game Settings allows the player to choose whether the top of the Mini-Map is always North, or whether the top is the direction Scarlett is currently facing, with the map rotating about her as she turns. QuickBar The QuickBar (also called the SkillBar) displays the set of player-assignable action keys as currently configured. For easy reference, the icons of the Skills currently assigned to each button or key are shown on-screen (On consoles, in the lower right corner of the screen; on Windows, along the bottom of the screen.) Most Mental Skills and many Physical Skills are Active skills: They need to be invoked explicitly by the player when Scarlett is to use them. Venetica offers a set of player-assigned buttons or keys that the player can set to initiate Active Skills. There are five such buttons on the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 controllers: The four Arrow buttons and the B''' or '''O button. Using a Windows Keyboard, the number keys 1-7 are all customizable. These customizable keys or buttons are called the QuickBar (or QuickSlots). In order for Scarlett to use an Active Skill, the player must first assign that skill to a key or button on the QuickBar. For example, if Scarlett has learned the Raven's Wrath spell, it must first be assigned to one of the buttons on the QuickBar, and then it can be cast quickly and easily by just pressing that button/key. (This means the player should adjust which skills are available on the QuickBar according to the situation or opponents, and make sure the skills currently on the QuickBar are appropriate to the Weapon Scarlett is using.) To set up which skills are assigned to which buttons/keys on the QuickBar, the player should open Scarlett's Journal to either the Physical Skills or Mental Skills page and select a skill to be assigned to the QuickBar. Use the X''' or '''[] button to configure the QuickBar by then pressing the QuickBar button to be assigned to the currently selected skill. The [[Settings#Dynamic_Skillbar|'Dynamic SkillBar' Option]] lets the game display a different set of Skills on the QuickBar depending on the Type of Weapon Scarlett is wielding. (Most of the Active Physical Skills are specific to a particular Type of Weapon (Swords, Hammers, or Spears).) Activating this option can save the Player a lot of effort changing Active Physical Skills as Scarlett changes weapons to adjust to the Armor or each opponent. On the other hand, if the Player changes Scarlett's weapons-independent Mental Skills it requires the Player to make the same change separately on each weapon-type's version of the QuickBar. Transient On-Screen Displays Lantern Oil Any time Scarlett lights her Lantern, a small gauge appears at the left of the screen, immediately below the basic status HUD. It shows how much oil is left in the Lantern. The player can light the Lantern by selecting its icon on the Inventory page and pressing the action key. To refill the lantern, select either a Fish Oil or Gripper Beacon icon on the Inventory page and pressing the action key. If the Lantern runs completely out of oil, the light will go out and the lantern will automatically be put away. Enemy Health Bar Any time Scarlett gets within Combat range of one or more enemies, a Health Bar and identification will appear near the top of the screen, hovering over each enemy within range to indicate the status of the enemy. The initial Health Bar is filled with red; as each enemy's Health is reduced (by damage inflicted by Scarlett), the red bar retreats to the left. Once all the red is exhausted from the Health Bar, the enemy dies. The identification above each Health Bar names the enemy or at least the type of minion (for example, "Hector" or "Assassin"). (It is quite rare for more than one type of enemy to be involved in a single fight.) The appearance of the Health Bar is a good indication that the enemy is in range of Scarlett's necromantic powers. For example, until Scarlett gets close enough for a Health Bar to appear, she will not have a target in range for her Blood Toll spell. Likewise, Scarlett can only "lock on" to a melee opponent or successfully attack them with a Weapon once she is close enough for the Health Bar to appear. The Passage Hint A small icon for The Passage Mental Skill will appear at the left of the screen when there is something interesting in the Twilight World for Scarlett to see, as a suggestion that she should invoke The Passage. Usually, this will be the ghosts of Don and Nesto wanting to point out or tell her something useful. This hint icon only appears after Scarlett has learned The Passage. Note this icon isn't displayed when Scarlett is near to a Nexus Portal; the distinctive "rushing" sound is used to hint at that, instead. This helpful icon also does not appear when she is in the presence of Amago's Ghost, which is one reason he's so hard to find. Raven's Eye Hint A small icon for the Raven's Eye Mental Skill will appear to the left of the screen when there is a Raven perched within range to show Scarlett something interesting. Usually, this will be a nearby location she may want to know about. It is a hint that Scarlett may want to invoke the Raven's Eye skill at the current location. This hint icon will only appear if Scarlett has learned the optional Raven's Eye Necromantic Skill. (Read more about the Raven's Eye skill and what it can show Scarlett...) Contextual Action Prompts Contextual Action Prompts will appear in the lower left of the screen whenever Scarlett is near some person or object that she can interact with in a specialized way. It shows the button/key to press to have Scarlett perform that specific action. (Usually, that is the Action button/key (X''', '''A, or Left Mouse button, depending on the controller), unless Scarlett has her weapon drawn, in which case the auxiliary action button/key (L1, LB, or Ctrl-Left Click) is used instead to perform this contextual action.) Typical contextual action prompts are: * Talk to ______ - Whenever Scarlett is close to another Characters (except in Combat), this prompt will appear to allow her to initiate a Conversation with that character. Depending on the importance of the character, this conversation may lead to additional Dialogue Options. * Enter _______ - When Scarlett walks up to a door, passable window, or other area entrance, this prompt appears. Taking the action will open the door/window and have Scarlett walk inside. (Opening and entering form a single action; she can't simply open the door and look inside.) If the door has a lock, this action will also initiate Lock Picking. A few special doors require a "special key" to enter; if Scarlett doesn't have the required key in her Inventory, the message "Special Key Required" will be displayed, instead.) * Pick Up _______ - When Scarlett is near a small, loose object (such as Loot or Consumables, including select growing herbs and mushrooms), this prompt will allow her to pick the object up (add it to her Inventory.) * Search _______ - When Scarlett is near a treasure chest or the body of an enemy she has killed in Combat, this prompt will allow her to search for items she may want to collect. When searching a chest, if the chest is locked, this action will also initiate Lock Picking.) An Inventory screen will allow her to choose which items she wishes to add to her own Inventory, or the player can simply use the "Quick Loot" auxiliary action button/key to grab everything at once. If Scarlett is searching the body of a slain Creature and she has the Beast Knowledge passive skill, this action will automatically skin/gut the animal for useful or valuable parts (hide, tusks, beacons). * Look at Sign - When Scarlett is near a sign post, this press of the Action Key will allow her to read what is written on it. * Take a Rest - When Scarlett is near a bed (or, sometimes, a chair or stool), this prompt will allow her to rest. Resting allows time to pass, if Scarlett is waiting for a particular time of day (Rogues only come out at night, Street Merchants only appear in daylight, etc.). A 24-hour clock is displayed allowing the player to choose when Scarlett should wake up. Resting in a bed will also restore all Health and Mental Energy to their current maxima. Dialog Choices When Scarlett engages any of Venetica 's Characters in a Conversation, a dialogue choice display will appear when it is her turn to reply. Anywhere from two to four responses may be possible, depending on the Characters and Context.. The player can select the desired response using the arrow keys, the mouse, or the joystick, depending on the controller being used. Scarlett will then speak the desired response and the Conversation will continue (or end.) Scarlett can initiate a Conversation with any of the Characters she meets (outside of Combat) by approaching close enough for the "Talk to _____" contextual action prompt to appear on the lower right of the screen and pressing the indicated key/button. (Read more about Conversations...) Subtitles Subtitles are an Option that causes all dialog spoken by the characters to appear in text at the bottom of the screen. Combat Text The Combat Text option can be enabled in the game settings menu. If it is enabled, it causes small red or yellow floating numbers to be displayed during combat. Those numbers indicate the hit points inflicted on an opponent (red negative numbers) or inflicted on Scarlett (yellow negative numbers). Combat Text is useful to (a) estimate how much health an opponent has left, and (b) see how much damage a weapon or a chained strike inflicts. Category:Mechanics Category:Display